Franconian Switzerland is a region made for the great outdoors. World-famous climbing crags, a river for canoeing, caves, outdoor swimming pools and family-friendly leisure destinations are often just a few kilometres apart, so you can combine several activities in a single day. And if it rains, there are plenty of indoor alternatives.
🧗 Climbing
The Frankenjura is one of the world’s largest sport climbing areas: over a thousand crags, tens of thousands of routes and the birthplace of redpoint climbing. There are also via ferratas, for which you don’t need your own rope, and indoor climbing centres for rainy days. Find out more on the Climbing page.
🛶 Canoeing & Kayaking
Anyone expecting a leisurely cruise is in for a surprise – whilst it’s not a white-water rafting trip, it does demand quite a bit from novice paddlers: rapids, boat slides and portages alternate with calmer stretches. Paddling takes place on the Wiesent from Plankenfels; for nature conservation reasons, this is only permitted between 1 May and 30 September. Equipment hire: aktiv-reisen.com, kajak-mietservice.de, leinen-los.de/kajaktouren.
🏊 Swimming & Bathing
In summer, the Wiesent is the obvious choice for cooling off, alongside the Felsenbad Pottenstein and Waischenfeld outdoor swimming pools. Open all year round, whatever the weather: Therme Obernsees, Königsbad Forchheim, Lohengrintherme Bayreuth and Cabriosol Pegnitz.
🏛 Museums
The Pottenstein Executioner’s Museum, the Franconian Switzerland Museum in Tüchersfeld and the Thurnau Pottery Museum – three very different venues, all of which are worth a visit even when it’s raining.
🎢 Adventure Park & Animals
The Pottenstein Adventure Rock is a leisure park with 12 attractions; entry is free – you only pay for what you use. Families will also enjoy an alpaca walk and the Hundshaupten Wildlife Park.
🚂 Museum Railway
A historic steam train runs through the Wiesent Valley between Ebermannstadt and Behringersmühle on Sundays and public holidays from May to October, often with convenient connections via the ‘Kulturbus’ service. dampfbahn.net
⛳ Golf
- Golfclub Oberfranken e.V. – Petershof 1, 95349 Thurnau – Tel. +49 (0)9228 319 – gc-oberfranken.de
- Fränkische Schweiz Golf Club e.V. – Kanndorf 8, 91320 Ebermannstadt – Tel. +49 (0)9194 4827 – gc-fs.de (taster courses, public short-hole course)
- Weidenloh Golf Course / Public Golf Course – Weidenloh, 91278 Pottenstein – Tel. +49 (0)9243 929220 – gc-pottenstein.de